17(5 



Thirl !i-sirlh Annual MrvUng 



.1 iislruiii /niiil-hn'r,/ini/ eslahlhshmciils. 



In coiijimclidii with the FJslicrv Con.ijrcss in Vii'iiiia, visit> 

 wiMv made Id a minihcr of pi'lvatc t roiit-l)iv:'(l!iio- establisliiiu'iits 

 ill Idwcr Austria. 'I'licsc visits ju'ovimI wit interesting, ciijov- 



alilc, and |n-dlitalilr t c; and I will venture to tell yon soine- 



ihing aliout the liaielieries, llieir methods, and tlieir ])rodnets. 



Here, as at most other places in Austria and (iennany. the 

 American trouts are handled, and give veiT satisfactor}- results. 

 The rainliow trout is the most general favorite, owing to il> 

 hardiness, rapid growth, and all-round good qualities. 



I was very strongly impressed with the methods of feeding 

 in vogvie at all of these stations, although 1 have not sufficient 

 knowledge of practical lishenltnre to judge whethei' the A.us- 

 trian practices are unknown or unused among us. 



In the first place, gi'cat stress is laid on the value of natural 

 food for young trout, and much attt'ution is devoted to its ]jro- 

 duction and administration. Certain ponds, together with 

 ditches and moats, are kept well stocked with water plants, and 

 such waters are used as reservoirs for copepods, which are col- 

 lected with fine-meshed nets as needed. In addition to this, 

 piles of com])ost are placed at intervals around the borders of 

 the rearing ponds, the compost being the material taken from 

 the bottoms of ponds and left to dry on the shores for several 

 years. The use of compost in this way is based on the theory 

 that there is secured an abundant develojunent of bacteria which 

 serve as food for the copepods. At one station a very shallow 

 pond covering about an acre had lieen drained and when dry had 

 been thickly sown \\ith peas and grass, which growth when G 

 to 12 inches high was killed by flooding the pond. It wa,s ex- 

 jiected that in a short time decomposition of the vegetable 

 matter woidd begin and bacteria and copepods would appear in 

 large numbers; then young trout would be introduced. This 

 was an initial experiment, and some of the visiting fish cultur- 

 ists with whom 1 talked expressed doubt as to the rationale of 

 the ])r()cedur(\ 



Another food in general use was found to be the salted eggs 

 of the cod. These come from Norway in barrels holding several 

 hundred jjounds. and are prepared primarily for use as bait in 



